Padikkal’s 211-run haul is India’s best at No.3 since Dravid in 2009

Devdutt Padikkal’s 211 runs across two innings at Galle is the best match aggregate for an Indian batter at No.3 since Rahul Dravid’s 215 in 2009, also against Sri Lanka.

Padikkal, batting at number three, finished the first Test with an average of 105.50 for the match, anchored by his maiden Test century of 167 in the first innings.

Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar was the other standout performer, taking 17 wickets in his first two Tests, with match figures at Galle including a second-innings haul of six for 55.

Suthar’s second-innings figures are the second-best by an Indian bowler in a Test in Sri Lanka, behind only Ravichandran Ashwin’s six for 46 at Galle in 2015.

Despite the convincing 165-run win, India retained their fifth position on the World Test Championship 2025-27 points table, with their points percentage improving to 53.33 after five wins, four losses and a draw.

The strong individual performances from both Padikkal and Suthar have added early momentum to India’s new-look batting and bowling units ahead of the second and final Test in Colombo.

Both players will look to carry their form into the series decider at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, a venue where conditions have historically played differently to Galle.

Padikkal’s century came at a batting position India has used several different players in since the retirement of senior middle-order batters over the past two years.

Suthar remains uncapped in white-ball cricket but has established himself as a frontline spin option in the Test side within his first two matches.

Both Padikkal and Suthar had featured prominently in domestic first-class cricket before their national call-ups earlier this year.

The second Test at the SSC will be the final match of India’s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, with the series outcome to be decided in Colombo.

Photo by Storm machine, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0